Are You Stuck in a Narcissist's Drama Triangle?

[Cirque du So-What]

Three potential roles, and how you can get out.

Psychologist Stephen Karpman developed the concept of the “drama triangle” over 40 years ago and it remains a valuable way to think about the roles you might find yourself playing in certain situations and when you’re involved with other people.

Drama triangles are environments where narcissists thrive and where, if you’re not careful, you can find yourself being sucked in, being forced into a role which is stressful and upsetting.

In order to understand the drama triangle, imagine a triangle and, at each of its points, is a “role” that we and others play. These roles are: persecutor, victim, and rescuer.

more...

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-autism-spectrum-disorder/202009/are-you-stuck-in-narcissists-drama-triangle

I consider this relevant, as we’re all involved with an infamous narcissist whether we like it or not.

[chia]

1. "persecutor, victim, and rescuer" One person can be any of the 3 at any given time, depending

on the circumstances. My god, I've seen this play out in my extended family between 3 different relatives over the course of 30+ years. I wish I'd seen this article years ago, thank you so much for posting it.

[ARPad95]

2. Karpman Triangle is exactly what a malignant narcissist needs to thrive!

The healthy/iest 3rd person needs to wake up and step (or run if necessary) away. The narcissist and his enabler, usually someone with borderline personality disorder (BPD), will destroy each other.

Trump and his base are the narcissist and enabler, respectively. We are the healthy(iest) 3rd person. They need a healthy person involved in their craziness to legitimize their behavior.

DO NOT GET SUCKED INTO THE KARPMAN TRIANGLE! Set and hold boundaries and let the narcissist and enabler have their rage/extinction bursts (temper tantrums on the narcissist's part and veiled suicide threats on the the BPD enabler's part) to try to suck the 3rd person back in. They HATE boundaries and will do everything to smear/destroy the reputation of the 3rd person.